


Fallen Memories

by mifuyuyu



Series: FE3H OC x Canon Weekend Nikgrid [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, FE3H OC x Canon Weekend, General Angst, General fluff, I can't write just fluff to save my life, Pre-Timeskip angst/fluff, mentions Glenn quite a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27437392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mifuyuyu/pseuds/mifuyuyu
Summary: One of two pieces for the FE3H OC x Canon weekend being ran on Twitter. Making mistakes is just a part of life; but once in a great while, things spiral beyond control, and the least Ingrid and Nikolas could do is apologize on behalf of their own mistakes.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Original Male Character(s)
Series: FE3H OC x Canon Weekend Nikgrid [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004502
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Fallen Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place one week after their B+ Support.

Training on the path to become a knight was extremely exhausting. 

At least, according to Nikolas.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like to train; in fact, he was quite the opposite. Practicing his fighting moves for monthly missions and having training sessions with the other members of the Blue Lions was something he enjoyed immensely, although at times he felt as if he needed to catch up with Dimitri and the others due to his lack of a crest. _Of course it would be easier for them._ Jealousy seemed to be the only motivator that drove him to pursue his fairly new passion to be a knight, but even that didn’t seem to be enough anymore.

After his talk with Ingrid around a week ago, Nikolas had no idea what to think of his beliefs anymore.

_“Here’s an idea: how about instead of supporting your ideals with mindless and indecisive language, why don’t you try to evaluate the way you think? If you can do that, I won’t pester you any further.”_

“So much for not pestering me further.” Letting out a sigh, he took a jab at the training dummy in front of him, stabbing it in the center. Being satisfied with his accomplishment, he smiled and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. “Cornering me in the dining hall yesterday evening was not what I had in mind when it came to her leaving me be.”

The majority of his time had been spent thinking about Ingrid’s forward approach when it came to explaining her ideals as a knight. Unbeknownst to Nikolas, most of her ideals matched up with Glenn’s old beliefs; even some of her fighting techniques had belonged to him long ago. There was mention of him before in her repertoire, though the redhead knew nothing about Glenn except that he was Felix’s elder brother. After all, he never grew up around the other Faerghus nobles attending the Officers Academy. 

Maybe it was a good thing, though. Meeting new faces and working alongside them as a team felt different to the way he grew up at home with only his father and late mother. It was a blissful feeling and something he took great joy in, even if he didn’t get along with Sylvain. 

To think that everyone would eventually go their separate ways pained him in a way that words were unable to describe.

Instead of standing around aimlessly even longer, Nikolas went to put his lance back on a nearby rack, though the sounds of the doors opening made him turn his head. It wasn’t hard to figure out who it was by the footsteps, though it felt like most of his encounters with Ingrid happened to be after his solo training sessions. Trying to act like he actually _didn’t_ notice her, he went back to fixing his lance onto the rack. If it wasn’t for her approaching him, he would have made his way out by then. 

“Hello, Ingrid.” 

Ingrid blinked a few times, a bit surprised that he knew it was her. “Hello, Nikolas.” She watched him turn around to face her, exhaustion clearly written on his face. “You never let up with your training regimen, I see. It’s a shame that you just finished, else I would have offered to train with you.”

“I appreciate the offer, but really, I’m fine training alone. I prefer it that way, actually.”

“Last I heard from His Highness, you’ve had quite a number of training sessions with Felix over the last week. Now, if you truly enjoy training alone, I wonder why that is?” 

“I thought you specifically said you’d quit pestering me about my ideals if I tried to consider yours.” Nikolas put his hands on his hips, staring down at the blonde intensely. “Also, what does training with Felix have to do with anything? Do I have to remind you about how you confronted me in the dining hall during dinner yesterday, or are you just playing dumb?”

“If I was _acting innocent_ , I certainly wouldn’t be here right now talking to you like this.” Ingrid crossed her arms, tapping her boot on the ground. “Surely you can spare ten minutes to spar before dinner, Nikolas?”

Waiting for a response but refusing to dawdle, she grabbed a training lance from the rack. Instinctively, Ingrid reached over to the same lance that Nikolas had just placed back only for his hand to briefly brush against the top of her own, as he was attempting to grab it himself. Face a slight tint of pink if only due to the contact, she retracted her hand back so that his calloused one could firmly grasp the shaft. The two of them shared a period of silence only broken by the redhead’s stony voice. 

“I’m only doing this to prove you were wrong about me.” His fingers wrapped around the shaft tightly, turning his knuckles white. 

“What are you talking about?” She was confused by his statement, though upon realization of one of their previous conversations, Ingrid’s eyes widened, but then furrowed after remembering her prior words. “Don’t tell me you’re still adamant about disproving my previous comment regarding your stubborn behavior, Nikolas.” 

“I don’t need a crest to win against you, and I certainly don’t need the favors of His Highness to eventually be someone worthy of becoming a knight.” The words that came out of his mouth were bitter, tone as cold as ice. “You told me my stubborn behavior would be my downfall, but by now, I have surely surpassed you in all but wit.”

“Are you implying that I am taking advantage of His Highness?” 

“I’m implying that having connections will only get you so far. You know _nothing_ about how it is to lose your future in a matter of seconds, since you grew up being pampered and still _are_ pampered to this day.”

“You wouldn’t know the first thing about the conditions I grew up in; you never knew me before the Officers Academy, so you cannot possibly attempt to talk to me about my childhood.” Ingrid closed her eyes and sharply turned her head to the side, sighing out of frustration. “I’m going to pretend we never had this conversation, and I suggest you do the same.”

“I find it hard to believe that you, of all people, are going to forget what I just said to you.” Nikolas placed the lance back on the rack out of frustration and made his way to the doors. “I would appreciate it if you stopped bothering me all the time, Ingrid. You chastised me enough for my ideals, and now you’re so bent in your ways that you’re persistently trying to convert me over to your own beliefs. That’s _not_ how it works and you know it, so leave me alone and quit trying to change me.” 

“That’s not it at all!”

“Then _what_ is it? Nobody will ever have the same exact ideals as you, not even me. Do you know why? I know you do, but I’ll say it right now: those ideals you have are nothing but a childish fantasy you have in your head. What did you do, get them out of a storybook? Better yet, did you take those ideals from someone you looked up to? Either way, they were never yours to begin with. Maybe you should try taking your _own_ advice and reevaluate **your** ideals, hmm? Perhaps then you wouldn’t be such a nuisance!”

Ingrid’s face fell, and she too put the lance back on the rack. This wasn’t the first instance where her own ideals were used against her; even Dimitri had commented on how she should rethink an ideal of hers regarding Glenn months earlier. Had she not changed? Was she still holding Glenn at such a high regard that she was blinded yet again? The thought frustrated her, and she scowled at the redhead, making a complete 180 in a matter of seconds.

“If that’s how you feel, then _fine_ , I’ll leave you alone. In fact, starting now, I don’t even know who you are. From this moment on, you will be invisible to me.” She stormed past Nikolas, pushing the doors open and going off somewhere, most likely to her room. He didn’t dare follow her, but inside he felt guilty for making her run off over his particularly hurtful comments. _I could have sworn I saw a few tears pricking at the corners of her eyes…_

Even someone as nonchalant as himself knew that he had overstepped quite a few boundaries, and it didn’t feel right of him to end things off on such a bad note. A pit grew in his stomach, and he pushed open the doors to the training grounds to see if he could see even the smallest trace of the blonde; but alas, she was no longer in sight. _I have to apologize._

Although Ingrid could be overbearing at some of the worst times, that didn’t mean she was necessarily a bad person for trying to change the willful knight-in-training. He had never thought about it until now, but perhaps being harsh and nosy was just her way of saying that she _did_ care about what kind of future he would have moving forward. Not even his father cared as much as Ingrid did- a sad but honest truth. A slew of other students weren’t troubled with such thoughts, and were on their way to the dining hall while Nikolas was nearly running to the set of stairs that led to the second floor of the dormitory.

In a way, they were lucky.

He was nearly out of breath when he arrived, so the redhead took his sweet time climbing up the stairs. Even if she wasn’t in the dorms, he could always book it across the monastery to get to the stables, which was the only other logical place Ingrid could have gone. Taking a deep breath once he got to the top, Nikolas walked down the hallway and stopped in front of her room. He didn’t hear anything coming from her room, but just to make sure, he knocked on the door a few times to see if she would answer.

Hearing her shuffle around confirmed his suspicions, but Ingrid uttered not a word even as she turned the doorknob and opened the door. Her green eyes were a bit puffy and made it plain to see that she was ready to cry, which only made the pit Nikolas had even deeper than before. Whether he liked it or not, it was his fault that Ingrid had retreated to her room to get her feelings out. There were no visible tears on her face, which made him think she was still holding most of them in.

“...Hey.” Nikolas looked down at Ingrid, who didn’t acknowledge his presence and went to shut the door until his hand kept it pushed open. “I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses, Nikolas.” _So much for pretending she didn’t know who I was anymore._ “What’s done is _done_ ; you can’t take back what you said.”

“And neither can you, but look where we are now. At least let me in so we can talk.”

“Shouldn’t you be in the dining hall?” 

“Shouldn’t _you_?”

Closing her eyes and exhaling, she opened the door the rest of the way and moved aside, letting Nikolas walk in. Being in a room that wasn’t his- that belonged to a woman, no less- made him feel like he was breaching foreign territory, although Ingrid’s room didn’t feel any different from his own. There were a few differences, but none that were worth noting, save for a makeup kit sitting on the edge of her desk that was given to her by Annette that he didn’t expect to see out in the open. He felt the urge to touch it, but refrained from such and mindlessly took a seat on the edge of her bed.

As soon as she closed the door, Ingrid opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Nikolas.

“I came to apologize for everything I said. I was just… I don’t know the word I’m trying to use. Frustrated, maybe?” Looking at the wall, he placed the palms of his hands on his thighs, fingers gripping the fabric of his pants. “It could have been jealousy, too. I seem to harbor a lot of that in me. I didn’t mean to lash out at you and call your ideals a childish fantasy.” 

“You wouldn’t be the first person who’s criticised the ideals I _wanted_ to uphold at the time. His Highness saw that as well, and in turn told _me_ to rethink the image and ideal I had of Glenn.” She opened her eyes back up, looking at Nikolas. “You… wouldn’t understand.” 

“I only know that he was Felix’s brother, and that’s all. Any connection you had with him I have no knowledge of.” 

“I see.” Ingrid fell silent, hand still resting on the doorknob. “I suppose I owe you an apology for storming off.”

“You don’t.” 

“I do. I’ve been trying to project my ideals onto you without even realizing it until now. My persistence _was_ childish, and I’m sorry for trying to force you to believe something that even a true knight wouldn’t uphold.” 

“What do you mean?” He turned his head to look over at her, a bit surprised. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“It’s nothing. Forget I said anything.” 

The two of them looked at each other in silence, waiting for the other to say something, but to no avail. Nikolas shifted around and laid his entire body across the bed with his legs hanging off, looking up at the ceiling and earning a glare from Ingrid. 

“Well, you’ve made yourself quite comfortable on my bed.” She let go of the handle and walked over to the bed, leaning over him and blocking his view. “Have you no courtesy?”

“Maybe not, but staring at your ceiling gives me time to think a little about what you said.” He chuckled, staring directly into her eyes. “But now I have a different view, don’t I?”

“You’re absolutely ridiculous.”

“Lay beside me. You might be able to clear your head that way.” 

Ingrid groaned, rolling her eyes and lifting up. From where Nikolas laid, it looked like she was about to walk away and sit at her desk, but she reluctantly sat down on the edge and laid her upper body back. Her eyes traced parts of the ceiling she usually never thought twice about, and her mind emptied out completely. Glancing over at her briefly, he couldn’t help but grin as he watched her curiosity take over.

Even with their close proximity, Ingrid thought nothing strange. It was strange, but she felt at ease with Nikolas, even if they haven’t necessarily been getting along the past few months at the monastery. Her lips tugged into a small smile, and she relaxed into the bed. _I… guess I’m too uptight to truly enjoy silence like this, but it’s different when he is-_

“Able to clear your thoughts, Ingrid?”

The sound of his voice startled her, and she turned her head to the side to look at him. Still wearing his trademark grin, he laughed once he saw her eyes widen and sat up. “You looked peaceful just a minute ago.” 

“You think so?” She sat up as well, using her arms as leverage. “I must admit, I haven’t truly relaxed in such a long time. It’s almost as if I’d forgotten what it feels like to be at ease.”

“It’s because of Glenn, then?” 

“In a way, yes. Holding his memory in such high regard and painting him as the perfect knight as opposed to laying it to rest ultimately led to today, and I should have realized it sooner rather than later. Earlier today, when you said I had no idea what it was like to lose my future in a matter of seconds, I…”

“You don’t need to say anything else. I think I understand where you’re coming from now.” Standing up, Nikolas brushed off his pants and turned around, putting his hands on his hips. “You truly did love him, and he was taken away from you far too soon.” 

“How did you know?”

“Huh? I didn’t know, I just made a guess that you loved him or something.”

“You would be right. I was in an arranged marriage with Glenn before his passing. He was just one of the many who lost their lives in the tragedy, but his death inspired me to pursue knighthood, just as he did while he was alive.”

“I guess we both got robbed of our futures.” He looked out of her window, staring outside. “Pursing knighthood for different reasons… That makes us no different.”

“But-”

“No, really, perhaps I _have_ been wrong about you. I find an odd solace in your company when you aren’t trying to shove words down my throat.”

_An odd solace. Perhaps that’s what I feel as well. Even if my father would rather see me marry into a higher noble family, Nikolas knows nothing of the many marriage proposals I’ve received during my time here. I guess that makes him different._ Ingrid blinked, eyes following Nikolas as he walked over to the door. _It’s for the best that he doesn’t know._

“Aren’t you hungry, Ingrid?” He turned the handle to her door and opened it. “You’re more than welcome to come with me, unless you’re going to stay here.”

“No! No, of course not. I haven’t had anything to eat since this morning, so I will _gladly_ accompany you to the dining hall.” Getting up, she straightened her skirt before walking out of her room. “Maybe you should leave before I do, since others might get the wrong idea.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, I’m pretty sure nobody will notice if we sneak in.” 

“Honestly… you’re impossible sometimes.”

“And you’re not?”

“That is… a fair point.” 

“Should we go, then? The food might be cold if we don’t hurry.” Walking out of Ingrid’s room, Nikolas shut the door behind him as he spoke, and Ingrid let out an exasperated sigh.

“Obviously the food would be fresh!” She crossed her arms, and the two of them started to walk together.

“You don’t know that.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

“We’ve been attending the Officers Academy for _how_ long now, Nikolas?” 

“Doesn’t mean they can’t mess up every once in a while.” 

“I’m already regretting my decision to go with you.” 

“What can I say? I’m just a likable guy.” Smiling, he turned his head to look at her, and Ingrid shook her head in defeat. A small grin graced her lips, but she hid it from his view and turned her head to the side.

“That you are, Nikolas. That you _are_.”


End file.
